Things that are otherwise good or neutral that we chase after and desire – that the Lord has been keeping us from for our own good – that he eventually gives to us. In the end, he may give them to us so that we realise the Lord was keeping us from the things for our good, not to ruin our fun. He isn’t saying the thing is bad, but that it perhaps is not good for us. 

I am convinced that there are times God gives us exactly what we want, not because it is a good thing for us, but because he is giving us over to that thing as a judgement. There can be times we ask, push and go after things that God would keep us from. The thing may be an otherwise neutral thing that God, in his goodness, is keeping us from. It may be an ostensibly good thing that simply wouldn’t be good for us. It may be a bad thing, that would be bad for anyone, but we have decided it looks particularly good. Sometimes God gives us the desires of our heart so that we can see just how unappealing it is.
The Lord did this specifically to his people in Israel:
But my people did not listen to my voice;Israel did not obey me.So I gave them over to their stubborn heartsto follow their own plans. – Psalm 81:11-12
But he appears to do this in the New Covenant too:
because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. – Romans 1:28
You can read the rest of Romans 1 to see how God might give people over to different things. The very going after of these things, and then getting them, is itself a judgement upon them. That seems to be what Paul is referring to when he says they ‘received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.’ The very things that they do, they very natural consequences of their choices, constitute a judgement of their own.
Of course, Psalm 81 and Romans 1 are both concerned with those going after sinful behaviours. They are, frankly, the sort of outward sinful behaviours that most Christians rightly understand to be a problem. Few of us who claim to love Jesus will be literally bowing down to Baals nor engaging in some of the more base aspects of Romans 1.
Where we are more likely to hit upon problems is less in the going after specific sinful behaviours – though I don’t pretend that we are immune from that – but rather that we will be driven by sinful desires and motives towards ostensibly good or neutral things for bad reasons. The Lord, in his goodness, may keep us from those things – knowing that they wouldn’t be good or helpful to us –
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According to the New Testament writers (in this case, Paul), the prophecies of Israel’s future restoration are not fulfilled in a reconstituted national Israel, which appears after Jesus returns—as dispensationalists claim. The ramifications for this upon one’s millennial view should now be obvious. If Jesus is the true Israel of God, and if the New Testament writers apply to Jesus those Old Testament prophecies referring to Israel as God’s son or servant, then what remains of the dispensationalist’s case that these prophecies remain yet to be fulfilled in a future millennium? These prophecies vanish in Jesus Christ, who has fulfilled them!

If we stand within the field of prophetic vision typical of Israel’s prophets after the exile, and we look to the future, what do we see? Israel’s prophets clearly anticipate a time when Israel will be restored to its former greatness. But will that restoration of Israel to its former glory mirror the former days of the Davidic monarchy—i.e. a restored national kingdom? Or does the prophetic vision of restoration point beyond a monarchy to the ultimate monarch, Jesus the Messiah, who is the descendant of David, YHWH’s servant, and the true Israel?
The prophetic vision given the prophets is remarkably comprehensive. The nation had been divided, and the people of both kingdoms (Israel and Judah) were taken into captivity or dispersed as exiles throughout the region. Judah was exiled to Babylon five centuries before the coming of Jesus. Since the magnificent temple of Solomon was destroyed by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar and the Levitical priesthood was in disarray, any prophetic expectation related to Israel’s future would naturally speak of a reversal of fortune and the undoing of terrible calamity which had come upon the nation. The restoration to come in the messianic age therefore includes not only the fate of the nation, but also the land of Canaan, the city of Jerusalem, a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem (the so-called “second temple”), as well as the long anticipated heir to David’s throne—the coming Messiah.
Yet, once Israel’s Messiah had come, and the messianic age was a reality, how do the writers of the New Testament understand these Old Testament prophecies associated with Israel’s future restoration? With a Spirit-given sense of apostolic hindsight, Peter says . . .

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.” (1 Peter 1:10-12).

According to Peter, Israel’s prophets predicted the coming of Jesus and tie the age of restoration to his person and work.
In Isaiah 41:8-9, the prophet spoke of a future restoration of Israel in the following terms. “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, `You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off.’” The same promise is reiterated in the next chapter of Isaiah (42:1-7), when the LORD declares of his coming servant, “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations” (v. 6). Isaiah continues to speak of this servant in chapters 44 (vv. 1-2) and 45 (v. 4). Based upon these passages and how they are interpreted in the New Testament (more on that momentarily), we can say with a fair bit of certainty that Jesus Christ is the true Israel because Isaiah’s Servant Songs are fulfilled in him (i.e., Philippians 2:7).
Furthermore, looking ahead to the “latter days,” Israel’s prophets speak of Gentiles being identified with Israel (see Isaiah 19:24-25; 56:3, 6-8; 66:18-21; Zechariah 2:11). As the gospel goes out to all the earth (the Gentile nations), all Christians become members of Israel through union with Christ–the true Israel (Isaiah 44:1-5). Those who are of faith are children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7-9, 21). For Paul, every believer in Jesus, Jew or Gentile, is a member of the “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). In Philippians 3:2-3, Gentile Christians are said to be “the circumcision.” In Romans 9:25-26, the Gentiles are even called “my people.” This is a rather impressive list identifying Christ and his people with Israel.
Not everyone agrees with the preceding, however. Given their so-called “literal hermeneutic,” our dispensational friends are bound to interpret those passages concerning Israel’s future restoration, “literally.” Yet, they cannot make good on this assertion while refusing to acknowledge that the New Testament writers re-interpret these prophetic texts in light of the coming of Jesus Christ. Dispensationalists contend that the Old Testament tells us in advance, what the New Testament must mean.[1] Yet, the Apostle Paul does the very thing dispensationalists say cannot be done. In Galatians 4:24, Paul specifically tells his readers that in light of the coming of Christ, he must look at significant elements of the Old Testament drama of redemption allegorically (i.e., the Abraham story, and the giving of the law to Moses).
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Everyone wants to hear directly from God. Everyone wants the comfort of having a message from the all-powerful creator of the universe. The good news is that God’s words have been preserved for you. God has committed His words “wholly into writing.”

“The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience…” The 1689 Confession of Faith opens with this unambiguous declaration that Scripture is the only sufficient standard of truth. All things pertaining to the Christian faith are found in the canon of Scripture. No where else. The modern world has no objective standard or rule by which to live. Everyone defines their own truth, decides who they are and want to be, and have completely abandoned the idea that there is a God who defines morality and reality. In contrast to this fallen worldview, the 1689 confession summarizes clearly and concisely what Scripture teaches about itself:
The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience, although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Section 1:1
Two Sources of Revelation…One Sufficient for Salvation
Notice first that the authors of the confession call out two ways God communicates who He is to humans: the Scripture and the “works of creation and providence.” In doing so, the authors are keeping with Psalm 19 and Romans 1 where the Bible says that God has revealed part of His glory and character through creation. When humans look out at the world around them, they should be able to deduce that there is a powerful, wise, and good ultimate Being who created the universe.
However, the authors are careful to distinguish between Scripture and natural revelation. The former they explicitly say is sufficient, while the latter is explicitly called out as not sufficient. In both cases, the sufficiency in view is “sufficient for salvation.” In other words, Scripture is the only sufficient standard in which you can find how to be reconciled to God. Natural revelation at the best only reveals that there is a God and He must have certain attributes.
Now, what does “sufficient” mean? It means that Scripture has in itself everything you need to be saved from your sins. It exhaustively contains the doctrines needed for being reconciled to God and then living in obedience to Him after you are reconciled. In using the word “sufficient”, the authors are making it clear that the canon of Scripture is all you need for salvation. You don’t need any supplementary or external material in order to understand and believe the Gospel. Not only that, Scripture is the sufficient standard for how Christians are to live in the world.

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